TEMPE – Sun Devil Softball ends its regular season with a three-game series at Oregon State this weekend at Kelly Field. The teams are battling to avoid the play-in game for the upcoming Pac-12 Tournament.
The series begins on Friday at 5 p.m. before moving to 2 p.m. on Saturday and a noon start on Sunday.
Arizona State sits at 21-23 on the season and is looking to snap an 11-game losing skid when the series begins. They are tied for seventh in the Pac-12 with a 5-16 record in league play. The Sun Devils can finish anywhere from sixth to ninth in the final standings.
ASU will avoid playing in the Wednesday game at the tournament by winning at least two games this weekend and having U of A winning one or fewer. The Sun Devils also stay out of the game if they and Arizona sweep this weekend.
ASU carries a .260 average and .818 OPS. They score an average of 4.34 runs per game and scored 10-plus runs in a game four times. They are fifth in the Pac-12 with 55 home runs while posting 106 extra-base hits.
ASU maintains a 3.71 ERA and 1.56 WHIP in the circle this season. The team records 5.78 strikeouts per seven innings with a .262 opponent batting average.
SERIES HISTORY
The Sun Devils own an 86-38 all-time record against Oregon State in a series that dates back to the 1977 season. That includes a 34-20 mark in Corvallis despite winning only one road series since 2009.
ASU swept the three meetings last season and has won six of the past eight going back to the 2019 season.
SECOND TIME THROUGH
The second time through the lineup has benefited the Sun Devils this season. In innings three, four, and five, ASU has scored 106 runs for an average of 2.11 per game.
The Sun Devils are hitting .276 with a .865 OPS and 31 home runs in those three innings. That has helped them outscore the opposition by 18 runs in the time frame.
LATE LEADS
This season, getting an early lead has been crucial for the ASU. The Sun Devils have posted a 15-2 record when leading after four innings. That moves to 10-2 when leading after five and 12-1 when leading after six.
If the game is tied through four innings, ASU has turned that into a 6-2 record. That also carries into a 3-1 mark when tied through five and 2-1 if tied after six.
SIX IS THE MAGIC NUMBER
Six runs have been the determining factor in most ASU games this season. The Sun Devils have gone 14-1 when scoring at least six runs in a game. They are 20-12 when holding the opposition to five runs or less.
LONG BALL A FACTOR
After hitting a program-record 104 home runs in 2022, the Sun Devils have continued to deliver in that department in 2023. With 55 home runs in 44 games, ASU leads the Pac-12 and is 16th in the nation, hitting 1.25 per game.
The team is 28th in the NCAA in total home runs, and they have scored 83 runs via the home run this season (43.5% of total runs). ASU homered in 17 consecutive games – one shy of the program record – before being shut out by Arizona on March 10. They have hit multiple home runs in a game 17 times during the season.
STARTS WITH YANNI
Yanni Acuña leads the Sun Devils with a .381 batting average and 48 hits. She has a team-high 15 multi-hit games with 23 RBIs and has reached base in 40 of the 44 games this season, including eight straight plate appearances from game two at Utah through game two with Oregon.
Acuña is ninth in the Pac-12 in average while ranking fifth in slugging (.706) and third in on-base percentage (.497). Her 39 runs scored is fifth in the conference, and she is sixth in walks, ninth in total bases, and 11th in home runs.
THE JORDYN RULES
Jordyn VanHook enters the final regular season weekend with 18 home runs. That is good for tops in the Pac-12 and tied for fifth in the NCAA, three behind the lead of 21 held by two players. Her 0.41 home runs per game also lead the conference and is No. 3 in the nation.
She needs two home runs to become the fifth player in program history to hit 20 in a season and three to tie the program record of 21.
VanHook is slugging .815 to rank second in the conference and 19th in the NCAA. She is batting .311 with six doubles, 34 RBIs, and 28 runs scored.
CLUB FARRINGTON RECORD
With an average of 1,398 fans per home date this season, ASU established a new single-season average attendance record. The average surpassed the previous record of 1,362 fans per game set in 2022, and it's the third time the average has been above 1,300 (1,315 in 2014).
LOOKING AHEAD
The Sun Devils travel to Tucson next week for the inaugural Pac-12 Tournament. The team will learn its seed and schedule following the results of the weekend.
The series begins on Friday at 5 p.m. before moving to 2 p.m. on Saturday and a noon start on Sunday.
Arizona State sits at 21-23 on the season and is looking to snap an 11-game losing skid when the series begins. They are tied for seventh in the Pac-12 with a 5-16 record in league play. The Sun Devils can finish anywhere from sixth to ninth in the final standings.
ASU will avoid playing in the Wednesday game at the tournament by winning at least two games this weekend and having U of A winning one or fewer. The Sun Devils also stay out of the game if they and Arizona sweep this weekend.
ASU carries a .260 average and .818 OPS. They score an average of 4.34 runs per game and scored 10-plus runs in a game four times. They are fifth in the Pac-12 with 55 home runs while posting 106 extra-base hits.
ASU maintains a 3.71 ERA and 1.56 WHIP in the circle this season. The team records 5.78 strikeouts per seven innings with a .262 opponent batting average.
SERIES HISTORY
The Sun Devils own an 86-38 all-time record against Oregon State in a series that dates back to the 1977 season. That includes a 34-20 mark in Corvallis despite winning only one road series since 2009.
ASU swept the three meetings last season and has won six of the past eight going back to the 2019 season.
SECOND TIME THROUGH
The second time through the lineup has benefited the Sun Devils this season. In innings three, four, and five, ASU has scored 106 runs for an average of 2.11 per game.
The Sun Devils are hitting .276 with a .865 OPS and 31 home runs in those three innings. That has helped them outscore the opposition by 18 runs in the time frame.
LATE LEADS
This season, getting an early lead has been crucial for the ASU. The Sun Devils have posted a 15-2 record when leading after four innings. That moves to 10-2 when leading after five and 12-1 when leading after six.
If the game is tied through four innings, ASU has turned that into a 6-2 record. That also carries into a 3-1 mark when tied through five and 2-1 if tied after six.
SIX IS THE MAGIC NUMBER
Six runs have been the determining factor in most ASU games this season. The Sun Devils have gone 14-1 when scoring at least six runs in a game. They are 20-12 when holding the opposition to five runs or less.
LONG BALL A FACTOR
After hitting a program-record 104 home runs in 2022, the Sun Devils have continued to deliver in that department in 2023. With 55 home runs in 44 games, ASU leads the Pac-12 and is 16th in the nation, hitting 1.25 per game.
The team is 28th in the NCAA in total home runs, and they have scored 83 runs via the home run this season (43.5% of total runs). ASU homered in 17 consecutive games – one shy of the program record – before being shut out by Arizona on March 10. They have hit multiple home runs in a game 17 times during the season.
STARTS WITH YANNI
Yanni Acuña leads the Sun Devils with a .381 batting average and 48 hits. She has a team-high 15 multi-hit games with 23 RBIs and has reached base in 40 of the 44 games this season, including eight straight plate appearances from game two at Utah through game two with Oregon.
Acuña is ninth in the Pac-12 in average while ranking fifth in slugging (.706) and third in on-base percentage (.497). Her 39 runs scored is fifth in the conference, and she is sixth in walks, ninth in total bases, and 11th in home runs.
THE JORDYN RULES
Jordyn VanHook enters the final regular season weekend with 18 home runs. That is good for tops in the Pac-12 and tied for fifth in the NCAA, three behind the lead of 21 held by two players. Her 0.41 home runs per game also lead the conference and is No. 3 in the nation.
She needs two home runs to become the fifth player in program history to hit 20 in a season and three to tie the program record of 21.
VanHook is slugging .815 to rank second in the conference and 19th in the NCAA. She is batting .311 with six doubles, 34 RBIs, and 28 runs scored.
CLUB FARRINGTON RECORD
With an average of 1,398 fans per home date this season, ASU established a new single-season average attendance record. The average surpassed the previous record of 1,362 fans per game set in 2022, and it's the third time the average has been above 1,300 (1,315 in 2014).
LOOKING AHEAD
The Sun Devils travel to Tucson next week for the inaugural Pac-12 Tournament. The team will learn its seed and schedule following the results of the weekend.